FEATURE ARTICLES
MULTIPLYING BIOMEDICAL CAPACITY IN DEVELOPING NATIONS Making free essential surgical care accessible to people in low income countries is a bold undertaking which has just been made even more complex by the surgical backlog created by COVID-19.
Training and mentoring of local biomedical technicians is a priority for Mercy Ships during every 10-month field service in subSaharian Africa
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ommitted to doing more to meet the escalating need, not-for-profit Mercy Ships prepares to launch a second hospital ship in 2021, doubling the capacity to partner with low income countries. Biomedical technicians play an important role in the charity’s strategy to help develop more robust healthcare infrastructures, to see increased healthcare services provided and to strengthen existing medical capacity in sub-Saharan Africa.
With 40 percent of the world’s population living within 100 km of the coast, it makes sense for Mercy Ships to use ocean-going vessels as transportable heath care platforms for their work. Volunteer crew members provide free surgical services to a country for 10 months at a time, simultaneously offering mentoring and training programs for local healthcare professionals. Though demographically and vocationally diverse, the professionals who join Mercy Ships have a single
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